EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The ethnic Sunni-Shiite rift parallels the Saudi-Iranian political rift, the Wahhabi-Muslim Brotherhood ideological rift, and the historic rift between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Tensions over Islamic hegemony arising from these rifts are likely to come to a boil at the 2017 Hajj.

Thwarting a New Iranian EmpirePeople do not understand what it means to leave Iran inside of Syria as currently envisioned by the Great Powers. Actually, to get a sense of what the full implications of that move mean for the Middle East, it’s useful to look at Lebanon back in 1982 when the Iranians established themselves in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and from that position established, in a few short years, Hizbullah, a guerrilla army that served as a surrogate for Iran – not only affecting Lebanon, but affecting the entire Middle East. Why was Hizbullah created? The Iranians have a theological doctrine called Vilayat-e Faqih – the rulership of the jurisprudent – which simply means that the head of the Iranian government, the Supreme Leader, is a global leader of all Muslims. When, for example, Shia in Lebanon refused to accept this new idea, Iran created Hizbullah which would accept the idea of Iranian domination, of Iranian leadership of all Muslims in the Middle East. ...... Just as Lebanon became a base for Iranian operations across the Middle East, leaving Iranian forces in Syria will create a challenge on a much greater scale than we have already seen. This will pose a direct threat to the future security of Israel, but also the security of Jordan as well as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The bottom line is: Iranian forces must be withdrawn from Syria back to Iran. If the Great Powers leave Iran in Syria, they are setting the stage for the next great crisis in the Middle East, which will be far larger than anything we have seen until now.

PA tries to increase hatred regarding Jerusalem (PMW)With Palestinian-Israeli tensions over Jerusalem's Old City and the Temple Mount still simmering, the Palestinian Authority has chosen to intensify Palestinian anger and hate by repeating one of its most dangerous libels - that "senior Jews of high position" planned the arson of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969. In a documentary broadcast on PA TV, it was presented as fact that not only did Jews plan the arson of the Mosque but also that after the fire started Israel shut off the water supply, preventing fire fighters from efficiently putting out the fire.The following is some of the narration from the documentary:"From investigations conducted by the Islamic Council it became clear that there was more than one perpetrator [of the Al-Aqsa Mosque arson in 1969] and that the fire was planned by senior Jews of high position, especially since the roof can only be reached from a wooden spiral staircase located outside the Al-Aqsa building. This proves that careful, premeditated measures were taken to completely destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The proof is that the occupation authorities were slow to extinguish [the fire] and that the water supply to the Sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount) had been cut off during those hours." [Official PA TV, Aug. 21, 2017] The 1969 fire in the Mosque was started by a Christian Australian man, who was arrested immediately afterward and found to be mentally unstable.PA TV's decision to broadcast this Al-Aqsa libel now, follows its ongoing attempts to keep Palestinian hatred of Israel simmering over the Temple Mount issue. Last month the Palestinian Authority Minister of Religious Affairs told Palestinian viewers on television that Israel was planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque: ...

The following is the full text of Abbas' greetings to Jong-un, as reported by WAFA, the official PA news agency:

Headline: "The [PA] president congratulates the leader of North Korea for Liberation Day"
"President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas today, Tuesday congratulated First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea National Leadership Committee, and Supreme Leader of the Army Kim Jong-un for [Korea's] Liberation Day.
The president said in a greeting telegram for the occasion that the Korean people sacrificed the most precious sacrifices for its freedom and honor, and expressed appreciation for the solidary and stable positions of Korea supporting the rights of our people and its just struggle to end the occupation and establish our independent state and its capital of East Jerusalem - the surest guarantee of realizing a just peace that all peoples of the region seek.
His Honor the president wished Leader Jong-un all health and happiness; the Korean people continued stability and prosperity; and that the historical friendly relations between Palestine and North Korea and their two peoples will continue to develop and grow."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Aug. 15, 2017]

The following is the translation of the article posted on the Facebook page of the Fatah Movement's Bethlehem Branch, Aug. 13, 2017, about the PLO decision.

"The PLO Executive Committee, led by [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas, met at the [PA's] presidential headquarters and discussed the political developments...The [PLO] Executive Committee condemned the legislators of the American Congress and their positions towards the Palestinian people... and sees the American Senate Committee on Foreign Relations' approval of stopping American aid to the PA - if it does not stop the aid to the families of the Martyrs (Shahids) and prisoners - as an unacceptable act that will negatively affect everything that is connected to the Palestinians' rights, and particularly their right to life and protection from the occupation army's violations, and [from] the summary executions that it carries out in the streets and military checkpoints of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. [The Executive Committee] emphasized the rejection of this [American] extortion and the rejection of using the tool of financial aid to extract political concessions.[The Executive Committee] emphasized that the PLO will continue its national, moral, and humanitarian responsibility towards the occupation's victims, the victims of the organized state terror, and the victims of the herds of settlers and their terror organizations, which the government of Israel supports and provides with protection and patronage, with the blessings of the legislators of the American Congress...The [PLO] Executive Committee sent a blessing of appreciation and pride to the freedom prisoners of war for their legendary stance, and emphasized that their release is at the top of its agenda."[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement's Bethlehem Branch, Aug. 13, 2017

Hamas denies existence of tunnels under civilian buildings (The Times of Israel)Though IDF provided exact coordinates for entrances into passageways, terror group says claim is part of plan to legitimize targeting innocentsThe Hamas terror group on Monday denied Israeli allegations that it has built attack tunnels entrances under the homes of Gazan civilians, claiming that the Israeli accusation is meant to lay the groundwork for attacks against residential buildings in any future conflict.On Wednesday, the head of the IDF’s Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, revealed the location of two alleged Hamas tunnel sites buried underneath an apartment building and a family home in the northern Gaza Strip, and threatened to blow up both structures despite a desire to avoid civilian casualties.

Motto Of Hamas Summer Camps This Year: 'Marching On Jerusalem'; Their Goal: To Train The Generation That Will Liberate Palestine, Jerusalem (MEMRI)The Goal Of The Summer Camps: Training The Generation That Will Lead The Campaign Of LiberationThe camps' director in the northern Gaza Strip, Zaki Al-Sharif, explained that their goal is to raise "a special, aware generation which will lead the decisive campaign of liberation against the Zionist enemy." He added that all branches of Hamas share the desire to inculcate in the youth the Islamic faith and the national military and security doctrine, and to consolidate the fundamental Palestinian principles, which are "liberating the prisoners as well as the destination of the Prophet's Night Journey [i.e., Jerusalem], and the return of the refugees."[8] The head of the camps committee in the western Gaza Strip, Dr. Na'im Al-Baroud, defined the camps' goal this year as "inculcating the value of resistance and liberation of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital."[9] At the camps' opening ceremony, Dr. Nasim Yasin, the deputy head of the Palestinian Clerics Association in Gaza and a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, stressed the importance of religious education for the sake of liberating Jerusalem and Palestine: "Liberation will be achieved only by youths who are educated in mosques. Liberation requires training generations. We are raising this generation based on the Quran, so that it carry out the mission entrusted to it, [including] the return to Jerusalem, the destination of the Prophet's Night Journey."[10]Explaining the rationale behind the camps' motto, Hamas's former education minister, Osama Al-Muzaini, said: "Jerusalem is the compass of the Palestinian cause and the central issue of the conflict with the occupier... It is part of the Islamic faith, and its liberation is first a religious duty and then a national one." He added that the camps' goal is "to train the generation of victory and liberation, which will have the honor of liberating Jerusalem and uprooting the occupation.Hamas Summer Camp Graduation in Gaza: Teen Cadets Demonstrate Military Training, "Capture" Israeli SoldierAt the graduation ceremony of a Hamas summer camp in Rafah, Gaza, teen cadets demonstrate military-style training, brandish weapons, and simulate the storming of an Israeli army outpost. One of the cadets "captures" a fellow cadet dressed in Israeli army fatigues and hauls him back into a tunnel. A teen announcer says that "the grandchildren of apes and pigs" had prevented the call for prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Footage from the ceremony of the "Knights of Palestine" camp was posted on the Internet on July 31.Teen Announcer: ''Joy filled our chests and our hearts, when we heard that the call for prayer has been restored to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, after the grandchildren of apes and pigs prevented it from being heard. Oh our wise leadership, from this moment on, we are your soldiers.''Video

onsdag 2 augusti 2017

HAMAS MILITARY WING SUMMER CAMP: TEENS ENACT SCENES FROM AL-AQSA MOSQUE STANDOFF, "KILL" ISRAELI SOLDIERS, "LIBERATE" AL-AQSA MOSQUE (MEMRI)In the final ceremony of a summer camp in Gaza, teens play-acted a scene of storming the security measures around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, stabbing and killing Israeli soldiers and "liberating" the mosque. Several dozen youngsters prayed outside a makeshift "electronic gate” manned by teens dressed as Israeli soldiers and carrying mock rifles. The group pelts the soldiers with paper rocks, and amid the ensuing attack, the announcer declares that "one martyr has fallen while carrying out a stabbing operation and killing one of the Zionist pigs." Other teens, dressed as 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades militants, join the fray, ultimately "blowing up" the security measures and "liberating the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the defilement of the occupation." Footage of the enactment was posted on a Palestinian website on July 19.

A joint communique issued after the OIC gathering said the meeting “strongly condemns Israel’s recent provocative actions” at the holy site.It accused the Jewish state of “employing collective punishment measures and the use of lethal and excessive force against peaceful Palestinian worshipers” at the site.... Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki told the meeting that Israel’s removal of the detectors was a “small victory in the long battle for freedom.”But he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to change the longstanding agreement whereby only Muslims are allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, although anyone can visit, including Jews.“Netanyahu will try again to impose his status quo and we should prepare for the next round, which could come very soon and be very nasty,” he added.... Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was time Muslim countries started to help the Palestinians “not just with words but with actions.”“We must act to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestine,” he said. ...In its statement, the OIC accused the Israeli government of “neither (being) committed to peace nor interested in the two-state solution,” saying its actions were the “most dangerous threat to the prospects of peace.”